LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Comic actress Melissa McCarthy thanked her parents for giving her the “terrible advice” to stick with acting as she was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Tuesday.

“Every time I said ‘I’m going to quit college and do stand-up,’ my mom and dad said, ‘Great, work really hard at it, you can probably do it’,” said McCarthy, whose mother was present.

“They continued to say that for the 20 years it took me to actually do it steadily,” she said, adding “in a way you really give terrible advice.”

The actress will star this summer in the action comedy “Spy” as a CIA agent tackling her first field assignment. McCarthy also headlined last year’s “Tammy,” playing a fast food worker setting off on a spontaneous road trip. But it was her 2011 supporting role in “Bridesmaids,” an acclaimed female-driven comedy, that earned her an Oscar nomination.

McCarthy, 44, began her career as a stand-up comedian performing with improv group The Groundlings. She then moved into television, starring in series like “Gilmore Girls,” “Samantha Who?” and “Mike & Molly,” which earned her a 2011 Emmy award for lead actress in a comedy.

Ellen DeGeneres, recalling the earlier roles, praised McCarthy’s work as “fantastic.” “Everything you do is memorable,” she said at Tuesday’s ceremony.